[Unconfirmed] New Laker Darius Miles

The deal isn't official yet, it's being rumored. I think it has some weight though, the Lakers are looking to move up in the draft, they want Marcus Williams. Maybe it's Mihm and the 26 for Miles and the 6.

 

There is perfect reason.

Darius would be one hell of a 6th man. And believe it or not, he can hit that mid range jumper. When we play a team like the Suns, we could go (if we did trade for the Blazers 6th pick): Roy (or Williams), Kobe, Miles, Odom, Kwame. In other situations, we could go Roy/Williams, Kobe, Odom, Reggie Evans (if we can get him through the MLE), and Kwame.

 

Personally, I'd take Marcus Williams. He's the most NBA ready PG in the draft, in my opinion. If I couldn't get him, I'd take Rajon Rondo.

The Lakers have worked out Brandon Roy though, and are in love with him. Mainly Phil Jackson is what I've heard. Jackson wants to trade up for him, and Roy has stated that he won't be working out for the top 5 teams in the draft. That's where this Portland deal comes into play. They're number 6 and Roy deserves a top 7 pick. Jackson wants to groom Roy into a triangle PG, which I think is possible

Brandon Roy
Height: 6'6
Weight" 215

Strengths
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> There is a lot to talk about here. While Brandon Roy has always been talented, it wasn?t until his senior season that he put everything together and became a legitimate star. 2006 has been a truly breakout season for Roy, and he has become one of the most well-rounded (perhaps the most well-rounded) and versatile players in the country.

Roy?s main weapon, and the aspect of his game that has kept scouts intrigued over the years, is his ability to create off the dribble. His smooth, patient manner of breaking defenses down is nearly impossible to deal with on the college level. He has a nice first step and usually has no trouble getting a shoulder past his defender. Once he gets that step, defenses are in trouble. Roy can slash all the way to the basket or find his teammates as well as any player in the country.

Roy has a beautiful midrange pull-up jumper. He is able to nail the traditional, jumpstop 15 footer with ease. As he gets closer to the basket, that textbook shot becomes more of a one-handed floater that is almost impossible to block. At the rim, Roy finishes creatively, and in a variety of ways. He is very aware of where the shot blockers are and will hang in the air, switch hands, or reverse angles to get a shot off.

Of course, what makes Roy really dangerous is the fact that he almost never forces these slashing moves. He is patient enough that when he sees help defense closing in, he immediately looks to find the open man - even if he?s already in the air or his teammate isn?t within his peripheral vision. For this reason, he is averaging over 4 assists per game on the season, and has a sparkling 1.8-1 Ast/TO ratio.

There is even some question as to whether Roy might be able to play a bit of PG on the next level. His court vision is first rate, and he has a calm, collected presence with the ball in his hands. Roy rarely commits turnovers or makes mistakes in creating situations.
The silky smooth way in which he picks apart defenses is undeniably effective.

The old knock on Brandon Roy was his suspect outside shot. He has always been able to make a difference closer to the basket, but what NBA team wants a shooting guard that whose effectiveness is limited to within 15 feet of the hoop?

Roy is a much better shooter this season, adding range well past the college 3-point line (35% on 20 attempts last season, 39% on 78 attempts so far this season). This has really opened up his game. Where he was once a very nice complementary player, he is now a feared go-to scoring force. Roy will always get the ball in clutch situations for the Huskies and has come through with big plays on numerous occasions, whether it is a contested outside jumper or a beautiful look to a teammate.

Another aspect of Roy?s offensive game that has to be discussed is his ability to post up. He is very comfortable taking smaller guards into the paint and backing them down. Once again, we see Roy?s excellent court awareness come into play. If help approaches, he will locate the open man and deliver the ball. If allowed to continue backing down his man, he is more than capable of turning and elevating for a turnaround J.

On offense, we see a player that can do almost everything. Whether it is handling the ball, creating for teammates, creating his own shot, or hitting the perimeter J, Roy is capable.

On defense, we see this same versatility. Roy has guarded four positions very effectively throughout his career, and is just as comfortable checking a point guard as he is a wing. His most notable defensive exploit this season was probably locking up UCLA PG Jordan Farmar, forcing the sophomore into one of his worst games of the season (2-13 shooting, 7 TO?s).

In the end, Brandon Roy is such an effective player because there really aren?t any weaknesses in his game. While he is certainly the go-to scorer for Lorenzo Romar this season, he is just as comfortable blending in and getting his teammates open looks. Roy hasn?t taken 20 shots in a game since December, and has only passed that mark twice all season. Roy is a physical rebounder (nearly 6 per game), an on-court leader, and an efficient shooter (50% from the floor, 80% from the line).

While it has taken him four seasons to get here, the question now must be asked: what?s not to like about Brandon Roy? </div>

His weaknesses:
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> If we have to pinpoint a weakness in Roy?s game, it might be the lack of a standout trait that he can bank on at the next level. While Roy is certainly spectacular off the dribble, he doesn?t have that ?blow-by? explosiveness or ?dunk contest? leaping ability of a star NBA wing. He has the ability to handle the ball and create for his teammates, but he probably won?t be playing full-time PG in the NBA.

For this reason, Roy may project as a ?consummate roleplayer? type at the next level, as opposed to a full out star.

While Roy?s range has improved, he can still work on making his 3-point shot a more consistent part of his repertoire. Roy still doesn?t look to shoot the longball very often, and that will likely have to change at the next level.

In addition, while Roy?s ability to blend in to his team?s offense is definitely a positive, sometimes his play borders on passive. Washington has relied on Roy as a go-to scorer all season, but there are times when he is too willing to let other players dominate the ball. This is far from a major gripe, as he likely will be playing a complimentary role in the NBA, but he certainly could take over a bit more often at the NCAA level.

The biggest issue for Roy has to do with his bad knee, which has bothered him for quite some time now. It really hampered him early last season, and a couple of surgeries may have robbed him of a bit of explosiveness. While Roy probably isn?t in the same category of a Kennedy Winston, you can bet that his knee will get lots of attention from NBA teams. </div>

They compare him in his best possible scenario to Manu Ginobili and in his worst possible scenario...Marquis Daniels. I'd take either one, but prefer Manu.

Marcus Williams
Height: 6'3
Weight: 205

Strenghts
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Williams has excellent size for an NBA point guard at 6-3, with a very well built body that allows him to take contact and maintain his poise and balance in tough situations. He has huge hands that help him both control the ball masterfully as well as make impossible passing angles look simple. Williams? steering paws combined with his peripheral vision allow him to whip the ball using impossible angles to the sides or behind him with a quick swoop and great accuracy when other point guards would struggle getting the ball off their finger tips.

Many consider Williams to be the best pure point guard in the country because of the poise he shows running UConn?s offense as well as his unselfishness, outstanding court vision and passing ability. He easily tops the point guard prospect rankings in assist to turnover ratio with a 2.42 average, coming in at 8.5 assists per game compared with 3.5 turnovers despite the fact that he was not available for the usually cupcake non-conference schedule that most point guards use to pad their stats.

Williams sees things on the floor in half-court sets that most point guards don?t and reacts to them instantaneously rather than waiting for plays to develop. He?s perfected the art of the ideal pass down to a science, showing a wonderful assortment of styles and outstanding creativity in the process. The lost art of the post-entry pass is absolute cake for him, using quarterback to wide-receiver style lobs, fundamental bounce passes, full-court heaves or the more modern and ballsy two-handed alley-oop chest pass right to the rim.

Williams loves to push the tempo of the game, so naturally in transition is where his stripes as a point guard really come out, as he organizes the break wonderfully, makes spectacular passes to his incredibly athletic frontcourt look easy, and knows how to put the ball in the cup himself if the pass isn?t there. He rarely gets rattled and usually makes the best possible decision available to him here.

No point guard in the country knows his teammates? strengths better than Williams does. He distributes the ball exactly the way Coach Jim Calhoun would want him to, rewarding his teammates after a strong rebound or nice defensive play with an easy bucket the next time down the floor to ensure they remain happy, keeping the morale of the team high in the process by making sure that everyone puts in maximum effort for every second they are on the court. That?s not easy when you have as much talent as UConn does this year, but Williams does a great job making sure everyone gets involved, particularly when it comes to his big men, who might otherwise starve for touches on most NCAA teams.

No legit point guard prospect would be complete without outstanding ball-handling skills, and this is a part of his game that he?s improved remarkably in over the past few years. The left-handed Williams dribbles the ball confidently with either hand, always under control, averaging a surprisingly low number of turnovers considering the number of high risk passes he makes, largely due to the fact that he does not make many unforced errors handling the ball.

Williams possesses a strong crossover that he uses to break down defenses, get his man off-balance and give himself space to get into the lane, a move that he executes wonderfully when his team?s half-court offense breaks down. In these instances he rarely gets fazed, being very patient making his way into the lane, taking his time, always with his head up surveying everything around him and doing a fantastic job of getting the ball to his athletic teammates approaching the rim for the easy two points. He has some shiftiness to his game here, changing gears, utilizing hesitation moves, throwing head-fakes or using screens to get by his man, which is a bit tougher for him considering his average first step.

As the season has progressed he?s done a better job at going all the way to the rim (particularly going left) and finishing himself using his excellent strength, something that was absolutely necessary since some teams will prefer to play him this way rather than rotate and let Williams find the open man on the drive and dish, which as noted he is brilliant at.

In other facets of his offensive game, Williams has shot the ball pretty well from 3-point range over the last two seasons, although this is something GMs will want to look more closely at in private workouts considering his limited amount of attempts. As a sophomore he shot a little over 40% from behind the arc on only two attempts per game, and as a junior he sits at 38% on about 2.5 attempts at the time of this report heading into the Sweet 16.

At the free throw line Williams is excellent, being exactly the type of player you want to have with the ball in his hands in late-game situation. He?s improved his free throw shooting from 72% as a sophomore to 84.5% as a junior, being especially impressive in clutch/pressure-packed circumstances.

In terms of his intangibles, we find mostly a mixed bag. On one hand Williams appears to be an extremely crafty player who understands the game, realizes his role, follows instructions and is an outstanding teammate both on and off the court. Experience-wise, he has competed and played well at the highest level of college basketball for the past three years despite the fact that he?s been ineligible for large chunks of that time. He has noticeably improved throughout his three years at UConn, actually being closer to playing only two full seasons because of academic and off the court issues. </div>

Weaknesses:
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Williams is not a spectacular athlete by any means, possibly even being a notch below a player he will be compared to repeatedly, last year?s #3 overall pick Deron Williams. He resembles Deron in his style of play and both have been criticized for their average athleticism.

His explosiveness, footspeed and overall quickness are not what you would expect from a typical point guard, particularly regarding his first step. He clearly makes the most of what he has at the college level thanks to his overall craftiness, but questions will linger until he actually steps foot on an NBA court.

In terms of creating his own shot and getting inside the lane this does not seem to effect him that negatively in the NCAA, as his strength, ball-handling skills and the quickness in which his mind works moves make him extremely dangerous on the drive and dish. How much this will translate over to the NBA will be the subject of much debate in draft war rooms and something that will be scrutinized closely in individual workouts with other top point guard prospects.

One aspect of his game where his lack of quickness clearly affects him already as a collegiate player is in his defensive ability. Williams does not move his feet well enough and is often heavily reliant on the three outstanding shot-blockers (Gay, Boone, Armstrong) he has behind him in UConn?s frontline. He has problems staying in front of his man on the perimeter, particularly when going up against smaller and quicker guards. This might not be that much of an issue if Williams showed better effort in this area, but this is not a part of his game that he puts as much pride in as he does with his playmaking ability, sometimes being a bit slow to get back defensively.

Williams? offensive arsenal in terms of scoring is fairly average, causing some to label him as a bit of a one-dimensional passer, particularly earlier in his career. In all fairness, much of this has to do with the fact that he?s constantly surrounded by future NBA players and simply does not need to have huge offensive outbursts for his team to win. Regardless, this is another part of his game that NBA teams will study closely.

Already noted are the low number of attempts from long-range that make his accuracy from 3-point range tough to get a good read on. His release is both on the slow-side as well as flat-footed, two things he will have to work very hard to improve if he wants to have any shot at getting clean looks against long and hyper-athletic NBA guards.

Williams? in-between game is also in need of some serious polish. Rarely will you see him pull-up from mid-range for a jump-shot, something that he will have to add to his arsenal considering his lack of explosiveness both getting to and finishing at the rim. Inside the paint he would be well served to work on his floaters and runners to help him get his shot off better against athletic big men when a clear path to the lane isn?t there. When he does get to the rim, Williams doesn?t have an explosive vertical leap he can rely on to help him finish here, meaning he will have to work that much harder on his offense to help diversify his game.

As great of a point guard as Williams is, his leadership skills still lag far behind his actual playmaking ability. Just as much as Williams doesn?t get fazed by opponents being thrown in his face or by a highlight reel assist that he makes, he also doesn?t show much emotion or passion when things aren?t going his team?s way. He has the credibility and then some to get on his teammates in the huddle and snap them out of their funk, but is still too quiet, passive or maybe apathetic to do so. We started to see some better signs here later on in the season, so it will be interesting to see how he develops this part of his game considering that he only really had one full season at UConn (his sophomore year) without disruption.

Off the court, there are some reasons for NBA teams to be concerned or, at the very least, some issues that will be studied closely. Over the summer, prior to his junior year, Williams (and fellow point guard teammate AJ Price) was arrested and later charged with four counts of third-degree felony larceny for the theft of four laptops valued at $11,000 from student dorm rooms, allegedly belonging to members of UConn?s women?s athletic teams. According to police reports, Williams and his accomplices attempted to sell the laptops to pawnshops in Connecticut. Williams entered Connecticut?s accelerated rehabilitation program, a form of probation for first time offenders that ultimately helped him get off easier than teammate A.J. Price. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to do 400 hours of community service, as well as being punished individually by UConn, being suspended for the entire first semester and non-conference slate until January 4th.

NBA teams will likely do their own meticulous research behind the scenes to evaluate how seriously they will take these issues, which makes it difficult to project how much, if at all, this will hurt his draft stock when it?s all said and done.</div>

He does have some off the court issues, but I think Pjax can resolve that. They think he can be an Andre Miller type player, and that's light years better than Smush.

Here is Rajon Rondo
Height: 6'1
Weight: 175

Strengths
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">n terms of physical attributes, Rondo possesses everything the NBA looks for in a successful starting point guard, minus possibly an inch of height. He is a phenomenal athlete with an incredibly quick first step, awesome foot-speed in the open floor, and terrific leaping ability. Rondo also has a gigantic wingspan and enormous hands, which allows him to play much bigger than his size.

As a point guard, Rondo is of the pass-first variety, being highly unselfish and featuring excellent court vision and passing ability. Although he didn?t always get a chance to show it, he is everything scouts look for in terms of being able to run a team, particularly his intelligence and poise with the ball in his hands, along with his ball-handling skills and natural talent in finding the open man. Rondo is at his best on the drive and dish, being able to get into the lane almost at will thanks to his terrific speed and ball-handling ability, and once he does being highly creative in finding open shooters spotting up on the wing. He didn?t get to show this off too often, but Rondo is a very flashy playmaker who can thread the needle to spectacular lobs from the perimeter or sharp bounce passes to open cutters. Although his assists average isn?t incredibly high, his assist to turnover ratio is one of the best amongst point guards in this draft at 2.11/1. Rondo is a very confident ball-handler going either left or right, keeping the ball very low to the ground, and is excellent at breaking the full-court press thanks to his terrific speed and poise.

As a slasher, Rondo has plenty of potential, but didn?t really get to show off everything he can do at the college level because of Kentucky?s slow it down style of play that prefers excessive ball-movement around the perimeter rather than one on one play. If given the green light, Rondo will be an excellent shot creator at the next level, as he is extremely difficult to stay in front of. Once he did get into the lane in college, he showed plenty of creativity finishing around the hoop, particularly with an assortment of runners and floaters. He is capable of stopping abruptly in the paint if the lane is too clogged, and floating a six to eight footer high off the glass. When making his way all the way to the basket, his long arms, terrific leaping ability and excellent body control aid him greatly in finishing creatively around the rim, often with contact. He is generally a tough player who has no problem getting dirty to get the job done. Despite his diminutive size, Rondo can get up and dunk with the best of them and will sometimes just flush the ball through after a penetration rather than laying it up to ensure that he gets his team two points.

Defensively is where Rondo really made a name for himself as a high school player and initially in college. He has excellent lateral quickness and superbly quick and incredibly big hands. These two things together combined with his length make him a terror getting in the passing lanes, and Rondo indeed has league leading potential in this area if playing for a coach that doesn?t mind him gambling for steals on occasion. He?s extremely smart and confident in his defensive ability, and has the potential to develop into a smothering perimeter defender thanks to all of his outstanding physical attributes and the skills he already shows here. He?s not afraid to step in the lane and take a charge if the situation calls for it.

Due to these same physical attributes (length, superb quickness and leaping ability, outstanding hands) Rondo is also a terrific rebounder who indeed led his team in this area from the point guard position. His toughness helps him out greatly in this area, and his Kentucky team would likely have been in very bad shape without his 6+ rebounds in 31 minutes per game. He managed to pull down 19 rebounds in 33 minutes in one extremely impressive performance against Iowa early on in the year.

In terms of intangibles, it?s hard to get a great read because of all the chaos surrounding Kentucky?s program this year, but it appears that Rondo will test out just fine. He by all accounts has a good attitude towards the game and a strong character, being a bit on the quiet side (particularly with the Kentucky media who he never seemed very fond of), highly unselfish, and probably not a trouble-making type. His work ethic is reportedly very strong and as we saw all season long, does exactly what he?s told by his coaching staff.
</div>

Weaknesses
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Despite his highly intriguing physical attributes and skills, Rondo is anything but a surefire bet to pan out as a starting caliber NBA point guard.

The biggest concern about his game revolves around his perimeter shooting ability. Much like with what we see with big men at the free throw line, Rondo?s massive hands prevent him from being comfortable in his shooting mechanics and show any consistency in his release. We saw his shooting mechanics change drastically all season long, and more often than not it looked like he was heaving a bowling ball at the basket both aesthetically and in terms of the end result. He only hit 18 3-pointers all season long and did it on a dreadful 27% accuracy from this range.

These same problems prevent him from even being an average free throw shooter in college as well, hitting a pathetic 57% from the charity stripe. Rondo is better from mid-range, but is still far from being NBA caliber here too, particularly in terms of pulling up off the dribble. He would be well served to continue to work on adding a wider array of hesitation moves, crafty head and body fakes and other change of pace skills to help him become an even more effective slasher, as team?s will likely just back off him and dare him to shoot the 3.

It?s difficult to tell how much of this had to do with Rondo?s already tentative nature and how much was due to Coach Tubby Smith?s slow it down old-fashioned style of play, but Rondo is often very indecisive regardless of what the reason for it was. He appeared to be on a very short leash all season long, even coming off the bench at times or playing off the ball (or both), and therefore didn?t put up the most impressive numbers in the world. He can get very passive at times, trying harder to limit mistakes rather than go out and make plays the way everyone knows he can. Again, this was not always something he could control since if he wanted to stay on the floor (the smallest mistake would usually see him yanked to the bench immediately), he had to play the way his coach told him to.

The expectations from Kentucky?s rabid fan base, paparazzi-esqe local media, as well as the glare of the national media spotlight that declared him the best point guard in college basketball very early on appeared to take a heavy toll on him as the season wore on, as he never really managed to live up to them.

Rondo is neither incredibly tall, nor strong. His frame looks fairly frail and he could face some issues fighting through screens on the defensive end or finishing strong at the basket offensively until he finds a way to continue to add strength.

Rondo is clearly still coming into his own as a player and at this point projects as more of an upside type than an immediate contributor. </div>

They call him a richman's Brevin Knight.

I'd take any of the trio, but I'd prefer Williams. Roy and Williams are top 10 picks and the fact that Roy isn't working out for the top 5 teams and they both worked out for the Lakers shows that we are looking to trade up in the draft to aquire one of these players. For Williams, I believe we'd need a top 8 pick, for Roy a top 6, and for Rondo we'd need a top 15 pick.

 

That's what I meant to say, the 4th pick...not the 6th.

 

I think the final trade would be: Mihm (we're going to lose him anyways, next summer. He'll be asking for too much money), Cook, and the 26th pick for Miles and the 4th pick. Then draft Roy or Williams. I'd do it in a heart beat. Why keep Mihm when he's valuable? We have Kwame Brown, who is better than Mihm. We need help at the PG spot and Marcus Williams will be the starter from day 1. Brandon Roy could be the starter from day 1. He also could fill in for Kobe when Bryant neeeds rests, is taken out, or misses a game.

 

Interesting trade, I just don't see how it makes any sense for the Blazers. Giving up the #4 pick just to unload Darius Miles? I think there are better deals out there for the Blazers to pursue.

From the Lakers standpoint, it really comes down to how far along Andrew Bynum is. Let's not forget Chris Mihm was our starting center and second most consistent player on the team pre-injury.

If you trade Mihm it leaves a big void at the center position. If Kwame gets injured or gets in early foul trouble, I'm not sure Bynum can handle heavy minutes yet.

Darius Miles would be another underachiever on the team, along with Kwame and Odom. It's going to be another long season for PJax working with this group.

I really like the addition of Steve Blake in this deal, and landing the #4 pick will get the Lakers another stud player. Personally, I think the team is after Adam Morrison, but landing Tyrus Thomas or LeMarcus Aldridge would be solid.

PG - Blake
SG - Kobe
SF - Morrison
PF - Odom
C - Brown

Bench - Smush/Miles/Sasha/Bynum/Turiaf/Walton

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GatorsowntheNCAA:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't understand why the Blazers would do this trade. They have already invested so much money in Theo Ratliff and Zach Randolph, why would they trade for Chris Mihm(who is extremely inconsistent) and Brian Cook???? I seriously doubt the 4th pick is involved. It might be Miles and the 30th pick for Mihm and Cook, that is a little more realistic, then maybe the Lakers will package the 26th and 30th picks and a player to move up.</div>

Why would they do this? They're desperate to get rid of Miles. He's a cancer to their team and their youth. Randolph also wants out, right? They need to start all over and calling Chris Mihm inconsistent is joke. Mihm was solid all year until his injury, and he's very capable of putting up 14 and 8. If he can stay healthy, he'd get noticed a lot more.

Miles and #4 for Mihm, Cook, and 26.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GatorsowntheNCAA:</div><div class="quote_post">So you would start over by getting a "solid 14 and 8 guy"(that's never avg more than 10 and 6 in his 6 years in the league) and a decent inconsistent outside shooting PF and a late 1st round pick for the #4 overall pick? I just don't see how you can rebuild while trading away the #4 pick. Hell Miles had more production last year than Mihm did last year.

Trading the #4 overall pick for Mihm, Cook, and 26 would be a major rip. It would be one of the stupidest trades of all time for Portland to do that. I'm sure they could find someone either in the lottery or one of the worst teams that didn't make the playoffs, that would do a similar trade giving up more.

I don't think you understand how lopsided this trade is.</div>

I think you're underrating Mihm. He's easily a top 15 center, possibly top 12. One season with Kareem teaching him and he learned a lot. He has a very nice baby hook, a turn around hook, and a decent jumper. If he didn't get injured, he would've been noticed a lot more.

Portland will draft Roy, why would they, though? They drafted Martell Webster last year. Why would Roy work out for the Lakers? Put 2 and 2 together. It's not that lop-sided. The Trailblazers would have the 26 and the 30th. They could draft Roby, Powe, Guillermo Diaz...there are a lot of options for them at those picks.

And you mentioned Ratliff. The guy is 33. How much more can his body take? Mihm is 27. If he's given the right amount of shots, he can get you 14 a night. He's a hard worker. Portland isn't going anywhere with their lineup. They also have enough young talent in Jack, Dixon, Webster, and Telfair. They need a solid PF and a solid C. Powe (if taken at 26) and Mihm could give you that. Then you factor in Miles. Not a lot of teams are willing to take him because he's lazy, has a horrible perimeter game, an attrocious attitude and causes locker room problems. He really doesn't have much trade value because of that.

As the draft nears, you watch the Lakers get the Blazers pick or a trade right after the Blazers pick. Roy has a great shot at being on the Lakers next year.

 

Another rumor has Bynum involved in the deal. I think I'd still pull the trigger if it was a guarantee to get Roy.